Phase Two
by Teacup Erinyes
Summary: Sequel to Missing in Action.Tsunade has trapped two shinobi couples and is filming them for her amusement.So far only the kunoichi have been allowed to take action, but now it's the guys' turn.KakaSaku.ShikaIno.Some other pairings.Strong language.Lime.
1. Still hungry

AN: This is the first Chapter of "Phase Two". It is the second story in the trilogy carrying on from my first story "Missing in Action". Just to recap… it is Tsunade's birthday and she has trapped two shinobi couples in separate rooms. She is filming them and watching their progress along with Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Choza Akimichi, Kurenai, Anko and Genma. It is pretty important to read Missing in Action first because there are plenty of references to things that have happened earlier. First up, I will show what is happening with Ino and Shikamaru, at the start of the part of the "mission" that Tsunade has labeled "Phase Two". There will be a serious lime coming fairly soon. I'm running out of ideas for phase two fast and it's getting really angsty so I may have to brake for a while but I'll try my best. Just to be sure: _This is thoughts. "This is Inner Sakura" __**"This is speech heard through the speakers in Tsunade's security room"**_. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of these characters, but I do own this story line.

1431 words in this chapter

**Phase Two**

**Chapter one- still hungry**

_What the hell Shikamaru?_

What seemed like hours later, Ino had just decided to lie back down on the bed. It seemed strange to her how long Shikamaru had been inside the bathroom, but then none of his recent behavior could really be classed as normal by any stretch of the imagination. Was he intending to stay there until she was asleep, when he didn't have to face her? She had spent the entire time up until then, pacing around the room, trying to figure out where she went wrong.

_He was attracted. He definitely felt it. He wanted me. It was in his eyes. I was so sure he was heading over to the bed for a different reason. Why did he knock on the wall like that? Why, when he so obviously wanted to, didn't he return the kisses? It was so one-sided, I feel awful. This isn't seduction. Who am I kidding? This is me using him as make out practice. Was that the problem? Did he realize that it didn't mean anything? Of course he did. That's his mission, right? _

_It must be that then. His mission orders won't let him respond to direct physical moves. I have to stop for long enough for him not to feel assaulted. Alright then, no more forcing myself onto him. Back off more and let him think it through. Oh Kami, I just had a horrible thought. Am I sexually assaulting Shikamaru? Is this official harassment? Will he write that in this report?_

_I wonder how Sakura is doing. It must be better than me, whatever she attempts. She's so lucky to get Kakashi. He's already a pervert. He spends so long reading those books, all she would have to do is act like one of those slutty girls and he'd be gone for sure. Is she already finished? Is she waiting for me to finish, laughing at my pathetic skills. I'll admit it, I'm much worse than I anticipated. It's just… it's Shika…_

Then she was interrupted as she heard sounds of water running. _He's actually in there then. I feared that he had somehow managed to contact Tsunade and had left the mission. Was that who he was knocking for? No, it can't be. He's in there now, and will presumably come out once he's finished in the shower. Put it this way, I'm not cooking him meals and handing them through into the bathroom. Not now I know what an amazing cook he is._

She winced, remembering their last experience with food. That was not going to be an association between them that they would shake off easily. She could imagine sitting with Chouji at a barbeque restaurant once they got out of there and they still would not be able to look at each other without blushing. _Dear Kami, what would Chouji say about all of this? We'd never see the end of it._

She lay back and stared at the ceiling, trying to clear her head of all of the thoughts. She failed. All she could think of in this position was what Shikamaru had said to her, was it… yesterday? It felt like they had been in there for so long the days just melted together. She couldn't remember any separations between them. _"I think of clouds"_

The water stopped.

She tried his technique for herself, willing her imagination to come up with a projection of clouds to replace the dull grey of the current ceiling. She failed again. She had never actually looked up at them properly for long enough to take notice of their appearance. The only time she had ever even acknowledged their presence was when she went out to find Shikamaru, usually for being late.

He would sit on a hill over looking Konoha and lie back on the grass, watching the clouds roll by. He once said that it was for him what meditation was for Neji or ramen for Naruto. It was a focus point, a relaxant and a safe haven from the troublesome life of a ninja. For Ino, it would probably be shopping. However, she couldn't do that in this little bed-sit of an apartment, so she'd have to find something else to do. Imaginary cloud watching seemed as good as anything to keep herself occupied.

The bathroom door clicked open.

"Finally came out?" she scoffed at him, deciding just to close her eyes and try it that way.

"Hai" she heard him say, with an upbeat but attractively husky tone. He sighed. "Kami, I need a stretch… would you mind?"

"Huh? Mind what? Go ahead, I'm not stopping you." _What is with him? He's suddenly fine again? _

"Gomen Ino-babe."

She almost choked. Ino sat up and opened her eyes to get an absolute eyeful.

Shikamaru had put back on one of his mesh tops but wore it without his usual jacket, leaving a strong, clear outline of the muscles in his back as he pressed himself away from the floor in a push-up that had her heart running double-time. He was still damp from the shower, glistening in the poorly lit room.

Suddenly Ino felt very glad that the lighting was not brilliant and that he was facing away from her as she felt a blush forming on her cheeks. _Imagine what he's like in proper light… no! Stop that thought process right there!_

He glanced over his shoulder with a lazy glance and she noticed something suddenly. _His hair! He's let it down! Oh Kami it's so hot! It's only spiky like that when he ties it up because it is naturally this straight and slick. He looks so… Stop it Ino!_

She completely lost all control over her thoughts and actions as she so badly wanted to reach out and run her fingers through the slightly wet hair. In an attempt to stop herself, she bundled her hands in the sheets beneath her and bit her lip nervously, almost tearing them both.

Then he smiled. His lips curved into that irresistibly unique sideways grin. Framed by the dark locks of his hair and coupled with his well-toned torso as he turned to lean on one elbow casually, that expression no longer seemed awkward and stupid. Now it seemed to fit, making him seem more sultry than sulky.

She wasn't breathing and they both knew it. She was stunned into silence. When she had first compared him to Sasuke, she seemed completely offended by the notion of them being similar and considered it blasphemy. Her feelings had not changed. She couldn't compare them. Sasuke was a childish crush. Shikamaru was so much more mature, a full man, far more superior. She started to wonder whether it was in fact that she had been attracted to Shika's qualities in Sasuke, rather than the other way around. After all, she had known Shikamaru as a close friend since long before she even knew of the Uchiha's existence.

So many feelings were rushing through her right now, she couldn't for a second think sensibly about her mission. _Stop it Ino, you're supposed to be seducing him, not drooling over him. He's still looking at you. He can see you staring at his torso, his hair, his eyes… Oh Kami, those eyes… no! Stop it. Look away. Wait, what is he doing? Why is he doing this? The smile says it's not just to exercise like he said. This is really weird now. It's Shikamaru, my team mate, my team leader, my friend. Has he really changed this much in a few years?_

She watched in awe as he ran a hand casually ran his free hand through his hair. "I know… its stupid, right?" he said in a voice which sounded partly nervous but also teasing, like he really knew it wasn't. "I lost my hair band somewhere and I know you don't have any so…"

She took one deep breath and forced her gaze away. Then she felt his presence next to her as he sat on the bed. A hand worked its way onto her thigh.

"Still hungry Ino?" he whispered right up to her ear, his warm breath teasing the skin of her neck. She closed her eyes, sinking into the feeling.

The second she couldn't feel him any more, she snapped out of her trance. This was making her feel more comfortable than she had thought and the only thing she could do was the same thing he had done earlier. She screamed and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.


	2. Bubblegum smile

AN: Chapter two. This is now showing the two other rooms featured in "Missing in Action", which are Kakashi and Sakura's and the security room with Tsunade and everyone. Second half is Kakashi's POV for Serenity Fey. FYI I know I use quite a bit of Japanese in my speech so feel free to ask if you don't understand anything. I think Kakashi is a little bit OOC but that's to be suspected, no? I'm sorry about the emoish-ness of it all. Will get back to ShikaIno next chapter.

1879 words in this chapter.

**Phase Two**

**Chapter two- Bubblegum smile**

"At least the girl has some sense" Inoichi sighed proudly

Anko simply stared at Shikamaru on the screen, mouth hanging open "Gomen Tsunade-sama. Really, Gomen."

"It had to be done. Otherwise you all wouldn't have stopped complaining. Two days would have been too much." Tsunade explained, though secretly she was also watching the jonin with fresh eyes.

"Ino must have the willpower of a goddess to resist that" Anko continued as Shikamaru stood up and stretched his hands over his head.

"Nara's secret gift that" Shikaku shone. "We're never lazy when it matters"

"Is that it then?" Genma sulked. "The chicks get eye candy and we get nothing? I thought you said that phase two would be better. Get back to Sakura in a towel."

"Genma!" Kurenai scolded.

"What? None of us here are even vaguely related to her. She's Tsunade's apprentice, but she is running this thing so she can't mind that much."

"Turn it over. Ino isn't coming out for a while." Choza suggested

"Yeah. Let's see Kakashi's moves." Anko agreed.

The screen came up with an image of Sakura sat on the bed in her towel, covering herself from the camera quite well and refusing to get dressed. The sound of the shower was clearly heard from the bathroom as she sat there. Eerily, she still stared directly at them through the camera.

Then Kakashi's voice was heard, sounding slightly panicked. _**"Um… Sakura?"**_

Sakura's head turned to face the bathroom _**"Yes Kakashi?"**_

"_**You wouldn't happen to know where my mask went, would you."**_

They saw her eyes light up in shock. Kurenai and Anko looked at each other in excitement.

"He's not, surely…" Kurenai gasped

"Well it wasn't her" Genma put in "she hasn't moved an inch"

"Oh Kami. Are we going to see him unmasked?"

Anko was practically bouncing. "Gomen Tsunade-sama. Gomen! Gomen! Gomen!"

"_**No I haven't. You were wearing it when you went in and the door was locked."**_

"_**Well I can't find it. I'm going to have to come out without it."**_

Sakura gulped visibly and shot a gaze towards the camera. She suddenly looked smug and stood up to walk closer to the camera. _**"Are you sure Kakashi? I mean, you try so hard to hide it. Do you want me to look away or something?"**_

"_**No. It's ok. We know each other well enough I think. I can trust you to be mature about it now. Anyway, I've seen you in a lot less so it's only fair."**_

"_**Um… ok well hold on a minute."**_

"_**Alright." **_

Sakura stood on the counter to smile directly into the camera and whispered so that Kakashi wouldn't hear. _**"Tsunade-sama… and your little guests, I'm sorry for this interruption in your viewing schedule, but I do believe that his invitation was for me only. I don't think we can trust **_**you**_** to be as mature about it." **_She winked and pulled her bubblegum out of her mouth _**"He's all mine."**_ Then she placed the gum onto the lens of the camera so that only a small part of the picture was visible. Now they would only be able to hear it.

"Sakura!" Anko complained.

"I knew she would be trouble." Tsunade sighed "she's getting double shifts tomorrow"

"Um… Tsunade-sama?" Choza interrupted

"Yes Akimichi—san?"

"Didn't she say that you have her on double shifts everyday?"

"That's not the point."

"_**Alright Kakashi. You can come out now."**_

They could see her feet in the small exposed area, standing about a meter away from the bed. They heard the door open. A few quiet words. Then they saw her legs back up into the bed silently, before falling onto it. Kakashi's bare feet followed her progress. Then they could see no more.

"This is awful. Unless they lie on the floor, we'll never see a thing" Anko sulked.

"I guess we're just relying on your offspring then" Genma told Inoichi and Shikaku.

* * *

"Alright Kakashi. You can come out now"

He waited a second and then he swung open the door lazily. She had not forgotten that she had ruined his only shirt for the time being, but when he emerged, with all that skin exposed, it almost knocked her out, it was obvious in her eyes. He rejoiced in the fact that she had yet to get dressed. _And now I don't need to resist it._

This was the most he had ever exposed himself to someone and for a second, he really was glad it was Sakura. He was half expecting her to squeal with excitement and act all childish. His other half was expecting the gap to have been a camera grabbing moment. None of that happened though, she was too mature now. She stood facing him with a put on straight face, glancing over his bare torso as though she had to remember every detail in case she never saw it again. _That is it though. She isn't disappointed or in awe like I'd hoped. She's just looking with a medical eye, completely un-biased. She isn't even looking at my face. This is worse than I ever thought. I can't keep my eyes off her and she couldn't care less about me. Do I have to try harder? Should I be more forward? I'm completely lost. _

"Sakura?" he spoke in the softest quiet voice, trying not to startle her but also trying to have some kind of effect on her emotions.

She looked up, but not at his face. For some reason, it seemed impossible for her to look. It was although she was scared of what she might see, or scared to disrespect him. _So bloody mature! Can't see just be a lame fan girl again, just for a while?_

"You can look" he stepped forward and cupped a hand to her cheek to turn her face towards him. She breathed in relief as she was forced to look at his face.

He also breathed in relief. She approved, it was obvious, even though she kept her gaze even. He knew it wasn't anything too dramatic, like most people expected, but the fact that she seemed to relax at the sight of him gave him some confidence. Yet it still wasn't the massive melting reaction he had hoped for. Phase Two was not going as he planned at all. At this rate, Tsunade would be right, she would defiantly win.

"Hey." She smiled in a whisper. _She's so adorable. I love that bubblegum smile… How am I ever going to get her to be more forward?_

Kakashi smiled back, trying to appear as charming as possible and released his hold on her cheek "Hey"

She stood back and kept walking, her feet carrying her backwards. Within seconds, she was knocked backwards by the force of the bed bashing against the back of her knees. She landed, sitting on the bed as Kakashi walked forward towards her. Her face was still stuck in a slight smile, but no major difference was in her expression that showed a solid reason why she had gone backwards.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly again, sitting beside her on the bed and keeping his voice deep, smooth and calm.

"Hai" she replied, looking away. He took the opportunity to survey her toweled form again. _Yes. She has definitely grown up. I can't believe I missed it._

"Well… it's better than laughing I suppose."

"Huh?" she turned to face him. He was caught looking at her. He quickly moved his gaze up to her face, so as not to be caught again.

"You seem pretty indifferent for someone that spent most of her genin years trying to find a way to get this mask off me. I'm just saying that, although strange and slightly disappointing, at least you aren't laughing at me"

"Why would I laugh at you? Is that what you think of yourself?"

"Would I have said disappointing if I did?" he grinned audaciously at her.

"Go on then… what do you think of yourself? Why do you wear it?"

"Hmm…" he put a finger to his chin and glanced away in thought. _Think Kakashi, what does she want to hear? I know…_ "I think that I am quite good looking, but I don't want women all over me anymore than I already do. Believe it or not, and this is going to sound very cheesy, I do eventually want a serious relationship, with someone I love and trust very much. The plan was only to show my true face to someone who I think deserves it, someone who I wanted to be with forever."

"Oh…" Sakura looked away again, looking ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry Kakashi…"

"Sorry about what?" he gazed back at her, staring into he eyes.

"You wanted to only show someone you loved, but now you've had to show me."

"No. I chose to show you Sakura." He reached out a hand and turned her face towards him again. _Crap. I'm actually starting to believe in this. Never mind, keep going._ "I could've found a substitute mask. I showed you for a reason."

"W-what?" She looked panicked, as though she had figured out what he would say. _She doesn't want me to say those three words. It's a good job that I'm not that tacky then isn't it. I'll say something else instead. Time to make a proper move, now that I'm actually affecting her._

"Kiss me Sakura."

She looked shocked, but then her expression changed to one of amusement. She put on an enchantingly seductive smile and looked him up and down. "Make me"

"Sakura?"

"Hai."

"I mean it; I need you to kiss me right now." _I really do. I mean it. If she doesn't, then I will._

"Why? Will you turn back into a frog if I don't?" she laughed teasingly.

He reached forward and touched her forearm gently, scooting his body closer to her. "You can't say you haven't thought about it"

"I honestly haven't. Now if you'll excuse me…"

"Don't leave me…" he held her arm kindly. _I sound so pathetic. No wonder she's laughing at me._

"Chill out. Are you getting claustrophobic in here or something? I'm just going to get dressed Kakashi. If I don't get out of this soon, It's going to fall off, and we wouldn't want that."

_She's saying that just to tease me. She knows fine well that I wouldn't mind that. _He pouted at her "You've seen my naked torso."

"What makes you think I would ever show you my naked body?"

"I have something you need." He grinned, loving her brief flinch. _She wouldn't... would she?_

She stood up and glanced at him smugly. "I'm not that easy Kakashi. Maybe I was when you last knew me, but I'm not now. I'm not some stupid teenager. You won't get anything out of me unless you tell me the key."

"I think that is exactly what I just said. Kiss me then I'll tell you."

"No chance. Tell me then I'll kiss you."

"I can't do that. What proof do I have of your word?"

"I guess you get none of me then." With that she walked out into the bathroom, picking up her bag of clothes on the way.

_Damn it._


	3. Circles

AN: OK. Here is the most lime I have written so far, and probably the most that I will. Couldn't keep this away from Ino's POV unfortunately, but I think it's clear what Shikamaru's thought are on the matter. I feel sorry for him already. Too much angst, but I can't get any more humor in. Help me please. What do you want to see happening here? Next chapter will be one of the audience's POV's. I haven't decided which yet, but it won't be Genma, or Anko.

1342 words in this chapter

**Phase Two**

**Chapter two- Circles**

After a few minutes of staring at the door in horror, Ino had managed to calm her heart down enough to let herself think. It still pounded heavily in her ear but it was no longer deafening and her oxygen supply had increased once again. _Don't let him get away with this. Don't let him think he can control you. Don't start a vicious circle of advances and hiding away in here. Be strong. This is just a mission. Now we are both attracted, we can't help it. Just get on with it, forget how weird it is, and get that information._

Taking another deep breath, she went to the sink. She then rinsed her mouth out with mouthwash, making an excuse for running off like that. After she had re-arranged her hair and taken off her make-up (It would only get smudged anyway), she went back to the door.

She turned the handle slowly and threw open the door, putting her sexy Ino smile back on. "Sorry about that Shika-kun… I couldn't force you onto my bad breath." She sauntered over to the bed again, where he hadn't moved, and sat back down. "Now… where were we?"

She watched his eyes shoot wide as he realized that his plan hadn't worked the way he thought. _I out-smarted Shikamaru! Hell yeah! Wait till Sakura hears about this._ She reached forward and put his hand back onto her thigh as she moved her other one to reach into his hair, pulling him closer.

To her surprise, the grin returned and she found the hand on her thigh gently squeezing before moving further up. It was quickly joined by his other hand as they grabbed her hips and pulled her into his lap. She squeaked in shock but didn't resist as one hand moved caressingly up the curve of her body to her shoulder and then to hold her neck as he pulled her onto his torso.

His lips brushed against hers so lightly that she felt herself arching towards him to extend the contact, but he held her fast. "Don't rush Ino. You'll enjoy it more" he whispered seductively and she melted. He contacted again, softly, gently, with feeling. It had more pressure than the last kiss but still left her wanting more. Two days worth of tension had her about ready to burst.

She spread her legs to straddle him properly, letting her lean against him more fully as she tried to push passed his restraints. She let her free hand wander over his chest again as he continued to kiss her tenderly. He expertly let his tongue reach towards the edge of her lips as he opened his mouth into the kiss.

She parted her own lips and felt his tongue politely contact hers. She replied with all of her own fire as she dipped her tongue out to battle his. After a while, she calmed down enough for him to remove the in-mouth contact and return to the soft kisses.

Strangely, unlike her previous boyfriends, he didn't seem to be trying to further the moment, seeming content with the intimacy level they were at right now, and she had to admit that it was kind of nice, but endlessly frustrating. _Doesn't want to go further? Well, we'll soon see about that._

She withdrew from his lips and reached for the tie of her halter neck, taking her hands from his hair and chest. She began to undo the knot.

"What are you doing?" he asked hastily, slight panic in his voice as he let go of her.

She smirked back at him "what do you think I am doing?" then she pulled the final knot and she threw the top off, revealing her black and purple strapless bra.

"Um… Ino I don't think that's such a…"

She cut him off by launching herself back against him, claiming his mouth again. "Shut up Shikamaru"

This was just like it had been earlier, when she had pinned him to the bed, but this time he wrapped his arms across her bare back and returned the kiss just as passionately. _He actually is an amazing kisser after all_ she thought dreamily. _Who would have thought, the laziest man on the planet…?_

She pulled up slightly. "I'm not kidding now… you _are_ a god. When did you learn…?"

He smiled sideways again "Shut up Ino"

He then reached and pulled her underneath him on the bed, keeping her legs straddled around his hips as he kissed her again. He pulled off his own shirt, revealing more of what it already showed her through the holes. She gasped as her hands felt the surprisingly soft skin and he began to move off her lips.

At first, she tried to twist her head back towards him but when she realized his intension; she simply snapped her head back and arched against him again. His lips moved slowly along her jaw line to her neck, kissing and biting softly as he went, sending waves of delight through her. She groaned out in pleasure. As he pinched the tender skin, she thought wincingly of the marks he would undoubtedly leave. _This is not helping the mission. Sure, the seduction is working; I'm just not getting the information._

"Shika?" she called out.

He simply grunted in reply, busy with his actions on her neck as he moved lower.

She clamped a hand over the area he was trying to kiss to get his attention. He looked up at her with a frustrated scowl. _Good._ "Tell me what I need to know"

He started moving the fingers of one hand across the bare skin of her stomach towards her chest in taunting circles as he stared into her eyes. He spoke in a soft, affectionate voice. "I will if you will"

"What?" his touch was scrambling her brain waves but she really was unsure of what he wanted her to tell him.

"Tell me you want me. Tell me you need me." He pushed passed her hand and began on her neck again.

"I want you. I need you." She gasped out uncontrollably, running her hands up his bare back "Now you tell me"

"I want you. I need you."

"No. Tell me the information"

"Tell me you love me" he stopped and looked back up at her.

She froze. The look on his face was so genuine. He really wanted to hear that. _One lie can't hurt, right? _"Promise me?"

"I promise. If you tell me that, I'll tell you anything you want to hear." He looked at her, anticipation almost bringing his eyes to tears. His hand stopped moving.

_It's no use. I can't lie to that. It's like some lost puppy. _She glanced away and mumbled "I'm sorry"

"What?!"

"I do love you Shika… just as a friend." She still couldn't look at him.

He removed the contact between them, leaving her feeling cold and exposed. "You… you bitch." He gave her a hard, painful push against the bed before getting up and walking angrily across the room. "You can't tease me like that and get away with it. What is this, a game to you? Troublesome woman. I know I'm not Sasuke or Sai or any of those other guys you follow about but…"

"Shika, don't…!" she sat up to stop him, inwardly wincing at the pain in her torso he had caused with the push.

"Shut up Ino! Don't talk to me!" he sat down on the other side of the room with his head in his hands.

It ate her up to see a friend hurt like that but she knew it would make no difference if she tried to comfort him. _Kami I wish Chouji was here. He would sort it out easily._ She went to her bag and pulled out a large t-shirt to cover herself with. _I've made such a mess of this. If I hadn't gone asking stupid questions, I'd still be in his arms, safe and comfortable._

_Damn it._


	4. Fag break

AN: It's been a while, no fantastic developments unfortunately. Hope it's not too disappointing. I've had a few "poor Shikamaru" reviews and I'm kind of hoping that doesn't continue too much. Ino's not exactly in rainbow land. XX

**Phase Two**

**Chapter Four- Fag break**

"Your son is a twat" Anko pointed out politely to Shikaku. Inoichi remained quiet, as he had done all day.

They had spent most of the last five hours trying to convince the Yamanaka to let them watch the rest of the tape, but he had refused. Not long ago, it was Choza and Genma's watch again and, bored with the view of Kakashi's feet dangling off the bed, they had sneakily watched on anyway.

After determining what happened after the moment Inoichi had ordered the tapes to stop playing, Choza had approached him to convince him to take back his order.

It still heated up for awhile before things went wrong, much to Genma and Anko's entertainment. Though as disappointed as they had been to find out that things between Ino and Shikamaru had not progressed as far as they had expected, the end result proved just as interesting.

No one had expected such an outburst from the lazy Nara, including Shikaku, who seemed horrified that his son would push her like that, especially seen as they had been close friends since they were tiny and he himself refused to hit girls, even during missions. As a result, Shikaku only nodded in reply to Anko's un-tact comment and glanced apologetically towards his ex-team mate.

Both Ino-Shika-Cho trios had never been further apart then they were right now. This last situation may well have been the final push, after all, it was Choza who went against the orders and watched anyway, extending the problems from just the competition between Inoichi and Shikaku.

Tsunade stood up and faced the group "I can pull this to an end if you want. I would suggest though that we check the tapes for the last five hours first though. If that was the situation before, we have no idea what could have happened between then and now. I know we'd all feel awful if anything worse had happened to Ino. It's your choice Yamanaka-san, Nara-san. Talk it through. Everyone else, go outside while we sort this out."

They did as they were told and Anko, Genma and Kurenai left Choza standing by the door while they circled the small nest of corridors within the Gen-jutsu area.

"You really do say the best things you know Anko" Kurenai pointed out.

"What, he is a twat, what's so bad about saying it?"

"Shikamaru never acts like that"

"I think the tape would protest that" Genma laughed at her

"I'm sure it's just the stress of being trapped in there, he's not the type that deals well with things being out of control."

"That and the mega hot Kunoichi he's got on his hands." He tried to help out.

"In case you didn't notice Genma, Kurenai, she's not the only hottie in there. He's not exactly without." Anko leant against a nearby wall. They joined her, one either side. "The things he was doing then… if he could keep that up all night, I would tell him I love him a hundred times to get him to keep going. Ino is one mixed up woman."

"Is everything about sex with you Anko?" Kurenai scowled.

"No… just a lot of it… I also like dumplings. It is our reason for being here after all."

"Dumplings?"

"I thought that was to blackmail Hatake." Genma ignored Kurenai's comment.

"That too, but that's not the point. Plus, we're not getting anything interesting from him so we have to find our own amusement."

"I wish Sakura had just left it. I was looking forward to seeing him unmasked"

"We all were Genma"

"Or more of Sakura in that towel…" he was cut off by a smack around the back of the head by both women. "All right, I get the idea, but think of the blackmailing she can do on him."

* * *

He found himself unable to look up. He had never ever been that angry at Ino. It was always her getting worked up, not the other way around. In situations like this, it would always be _his _fault for some inane reason and all he'd have to do was apologize and she'd be fine by the next morning, and even quicker if he bought her something.

Now though… he didn't want to apologize. It wasn't him, it was her. It was her fault for being so…

_No. It's not Ino's fault. This was a mission to her, nothing else. She didn't know that I would ask that. _He banged his head against the table, facing away from her so he wouldn't have to see her reaction. _That was so stupid. Where the hell is my 200 IQ when I need it? I may as well have proposed on the spot. Shit. I am not thinking about marriage. I am not even likely to get a simple relationship with her now. I doubt she'll speak to me again. I told her not to. I never tell her to do anything. I would never imagine that it would feel this lousy. Ino does it all of the time, does she feel this bad about it?_

He was interrupted in his thought process as he heard something from the other side of the room. Slowly and cautiously he looked up to find that Ino had left the main room and left the bathroom door ajar.For a second he thought that she might actually be continuing with the mission, and that she was going into the shower and leaving him an open invitation to join her.

He rose from his seat in interest, but used all of his ninja stealth abilities to creep over towards the door, in case he was wrong, which he really hoped he was. It would be too much for him to withstand this time and he would vow to keep his mouth completely shut. _That way I can retain the information properly aswell, at least, for as long as possible. The mission is completely lost on my side. I can only hope Kakashi is doing better. Maybe he has finally gotten Sakura to…_

Once again he was frozen in his thought process as he heard a sob coming from the other room. He edged around and glanced through the small gap in the doorway.

He was faced with Ino's reflection I the mirror as she gingerly pulled up the edge of the oversized shirt she had shoved on. A tear ran down her perfect, porcelain cheek as she ran two fingers from her right hand across the bruising skin on her rib cage. She was still underweight and so her flesh seemed even more marred by the injury, bruising easily.

Shikamaru bit down a guilty gasp as he tore his gaze from the sight and slipped back against the wall outside the bathroom. _Did I do that? I didn't I'd hit her that hard. Dear Kami I'm out of control. She must feel terrible, trapped here with me. I hit her. I actually hit her. I never hit women, even in battle, and especially not Ino. I always promised that I would never let anything happen to her. Now, not only have I _let_ her get hurt but I actually caused it._

He walked mindlessly to his spot in the seated booth on the far side of the room. Once again he slammed his head against the table, feeling that he thoroughly deserved the pain it created, although the apologies were still not his to make. He lifted his head to mumble in vain. "Shit Tsunade, this has gone way too far. Isn't there an emergency break button around here somewhere?" when he found no response, he slammed his head again with a grunt. "Mendokuse."

Ino emerged again a few minutes later, head bowed and without a word as she went to sort through one of the cupboards. She tried to hide the wince of pain she gave off as she reached to a top shelf, but failed and had to try and reach with her other arm.

In any normal situation, when she turned around, exasperated, having given up on her search, he would have offered to reach up for her. Now though, he was more paranoid about being near her than he was of her getting hurt, so instead, he stood up, and began walking her way.

He watched from the corner of his eye as her own eyes lit up, thinking he was coming to help her. He stopped watching though as he went passed her, heading for the bathroom, grabbing his bag on the way. "I need a fag." He grumbled and kept walking, locking the door behind him. Ino stayed quiet.


	5. Hentai

AN: sigh. Had brainstorms. Did bad things. Apologies. I'm trying desperately to keep the two rooms equally frustrated without repeating the same techniques. I'm asking again for reader help with chapter 7? Which POV? What would you like to see? Which room next? Do you want repeats from the observer's POV? I think Sakura slipped OOC here. OOC from the character I created for her anyway. Oh well… reviews please?

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1206 words in this chapter

**Phase Two  
Chapter five- Hentai **

This was the most fun Sakura had had in a long time. Despite the fact that it was weird for her how Kakashi was acting and even begging now that he had permission to retaliate.

She had complete control over him. She was younger, (and by his own admission stronger without chakra) and smarter. She knew things about this experiment just by looking that he didn't know, and he was an accomplice. Also, she had changed a lot from the Sakura he remembered so she found it far too easy to play to him.

He, on the other hand, hadn't changed a bit from the anti-social hentai obsessive he always was. It came as no surprise that he would assume looking at his face would have her all over him, and that whole fairytale romance crap… well that was what it was… crap. She had long given up on that idea.

She had changed into a loose t-shirt and her mission pants and applied a small amount of make up (only because she had the time, no other reason) before beginning once again to "clean" the apartment, noticing out of the corner of her eye that he was watching her every move unashamedly. With a brief smirk she glanced over her shoulder at him as she reached down to a kitchen counter. "Have you eaten anything today Kakashi?"

"no." he replied, a slight edge of uncertainty to his voice, as if he was waiting for her to say something controlling about it.

"Maybe you should then. There's plenty of food in here. I wouldn't want you passing out on me"

"Oh, I'm sure you wouldn't mind…"

She stood and faced him, her hands on her hips. "If you are even going to _attempt_ a tacky innuendo there, you'd better think twice."

"I wouldn't dare" he smirked. "I was merely going to say that you'd love the silence… and the absence of my gaze from your ass."

"You were staring at my ass Kakashi? I didn't notice." She lied, enjoying the slight blush appearing on his cheeks. She then returned to the counter, pulling open a draw to look inside.

"Are you going to cook Sakura?" His voice sounded almost exited.

"If you want me to Kakashi." She turned again and gave him a sweet smile.

"Well… I'd much rather you kiss me but I suppose it's an acceptable alternative."

She didn't say anything to that, but turned to begin preparing a meal for them both. After all, she hadn't eaten either due to the hot temperature in the room. It was almost impossible to do anything in there, which was fairly normal in early august in Konoha but she had a suspicion that Tsunade still had something to do with it.

A few minutes later, she heard him moving around behind her. She turned to see that he'd stood up from his seat on the bed and was shifting uncomfortably.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked him, amusement in her voice.

"I- It's too hot in here. I'd never notice it fully dressed. My skin feels like its burning."

She looked down at his bare chest and gasped. _He is sweating so much! That's not normal, but it's no act either. He is really burning up. Perhaps he is ill… "Shut up, who cares? That is so hot! He is glistening!" you did not just say that… _She shook her head and watched in horror as he began to sway slightly.

"Kakashi! Sit down before you pass out."

"I- I can't. The material is making me feel claustrophobic. Maybe I'll just lie down here…" He went to lie down on the floor.

Sakura frowned for a second before realization struck her. _Floor? He can't lie there, it's in camera shot. They'll see his face! _She didn't show another thought before rushing after him. He hadn't been fully lying down beside the bed yet so she had enough time to stop him. She struggled to come up with a reason and did the very first thing that came to mind.

She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him up against the bed. Hand still around his neck, she came up closer and placed the back of her other hand on his damp forehead.

She quickly removed it again when she realized that his temperature was warm enough to cause him to sweat, but still relatively normal. _He tricked me! That bastard! He used my medic instinct against me. Now I feel stupid…_

He smirked at her, glancing down for a second before moving back up to meet her horrified expression. "So… what's the prognosis nurse Sakura?"

She looked down aswell to realize that she was straddling his hips. She wouldn't have thought twice about it as a medic, but now she realized that nothing was amiss it made her very uncomfortable. She flushed and attempted to slip off him. "A really bad sense of humor,"

She found herself unable to move from the position as his hands snaked their way around her hips, holding her to him. He continued to smile at her.

She continued, stopping her efforts to get free in case he found it amusing. _He's not going to get that satisfaction. _"And… just for reference, I'm not a nurse, I'm a medic. One that could kick your ass any day so keep your hentai fantasies to yourself."

"I don't have fantasies Sakura."

She was shocked. Not by the admission, but by the genuine emotion behind it. The smile had gone from his face and he looked at her seriously. There was so many ways that a small phrase like that could be said, but he spoke with a desperate yearning for her to understand him. "Oh?"

"I'm not a pervert"

"You're not?" _"Whatever…"_

"No."

"What about your books?"

"Hmm…" he looked away for a second, trying to come up with an answer. "They actually do have stories to them you know. I usually skip the more perverted sections. I don't look at women that way, or men for that matter. I've only ever looked at one woman as more than friends. The books are just company unless I can find someone that I really want to talk to"

"You have got to be kidding me."

"No."

"You've really never…" _He's not… surely…_

He shyly glanced back up at her "No."

Sakura suddenly gasped and clamped a hand to her mouth. It took her a second before she removed her hand and looked at him sympathetically. She spoke in a whisper, so that the camera wouldn't pick it up. "You're still a virgin, aren't you?"

"Aren't you?" He rose an eyebrow expectantly.

"No."

"Oh…" he looked uncomfortable for a second "Who…?"

She frowned at him "I'm not going to tell you that."

"Right… sorry"

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why have you never…? If you don't mind me asking…"

"I told you. I wanted to find someone who I think deserves to see my face, someone I wanted to be with forever. So… I waited."

"Oh." She glanced away again, feeling guilty.

"Teach me Sakura" he reached one of his hands away from her hip and to her jaw line, resting there with a feather-like touch.


	6. Genius

AN: naughty pleasure zone. Not for the easily effected. Before you ask, I don't really know why it ends like this, I just kind of got typing and that's where it ended up. Lol… It may sound like lime-ness but it really isn't. I have so many ideas for the next chapter I can't figure out which to use, so… help is appreciated. I've probably really pissed off a few people here so I'll try to make it up to you guys. Lots of things are made clearing this chapter so enjoy.

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1412 words in this chapter

**Phase Two  
Chapter six- Genius**

"Teach me Sakura" he reached one of his hands away from her hip and to her jaw line, resting there with a feather-like touch.

"What…?" _"Shannaro! He's asking you to take his virginity!" Oh Kami…_

They were interrupted as another banging noise came from the other room. This one was much softer though and sounded as though it came from the bathroom.

"Bloody hell." Kakashi groaned in frustration and began to get up, releasing his hold on her. "I've got to go…"

"Not on your life Kakashi." Sakura held him still, speaking in harsh tones as she watched him look up at her in bewilderment. "Genius can sort his own problems. You aren't a babysitter and you are certainly not an expert."

"But what if…"

"Then he'll have to deal. I forbid you from going back in there."

"But he won't…"

He was quieted by the pressure of her finger being pressed against his lips. She smiled. "I forbid you. Is that clear?"

He nodded dumbly, eyes wide at the contact, much to her amusement.

"Now lick it."

His eyes went even wider, if possible. _This is too easy…_

"You want to learn?" She threatened

He nodded again, slower this time and more reluctantly.

"Then lick my finger. Take it into your mouth and run your tongue along it." _"Shannaro Sakura! Finally a good plan!" This'll teach him to play tricks on me._

He visibly gulped, and then did as she asked, slowly and looking up at her the entire time to check whether he was doing it right.

Once he was done, she gave him a quick giggle, and then pushed off him to begin walking towards the bathroom. "Stay there." She ordered him without looking back.

She ran inside and locked the door behind her, reaching out along the wall of the bathroom with the finger he had just licked. When she reached the spot where her fingertip fell slightly into the wall she almost jumped for joy.

She put her next finger across the wall beside it as a test and found that it too sank into the brickwork. She cautiously removed the first finger and rejoiced mentally when the second stayed emerged. _Yes. DNA opens the portal, I knew it! It's not even going to deny access to the rest of me either._

She sighed and walked through the wall, emerging on the other side to see the small, badly lit room. In one of the two comfy chairs sat Shikamaru slouched with his head in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. His hair fell loose around his face and he wore nothing but his cargo pants.

Sakura rose an eyebrow in interest but stood silently, leaning against the wall she had just emerged from as she watched him.

After a while, he looked up, sensing her presence and reeled in shock. He sat back against the chair and wiped at his eyes. "Sakura! How the hell did you get in here? Did Kakashi…? No… you hurt him, didn't you? Used his blood…"

Sakura laughed gently at him "Saliva works too dobe."

"Oh… right." He looked away nervously. "Wait… saliva?"

"I just thought that you might like to know that Kakashi is not going to be coming back in here for the rest of the mission, so you can sod off disturbing us. If Ino is too much to handle then you are going to have to deal with…" She suddenly noticed the moisture on his cheeks and the sad expression he had when she mentioned Ino. He took a long drag of his cigarette. "Are you crying?"

He turned away from her and took another rapid drag, rubbing at his eyes again. "Are you finished Sakura?"

"No. What happened?" She went and sat on the other chair to face him.

"It really doesn't matter any more. It's done and as you just said, I'm going to have to deal with it myself."

"Did Ino-pig hurt you?"

"Sakura, I really don't want to talk about this, please leave me alone."

"Shikamaru, you look like you want to kill yourself."

"I feel like it…" he grumbled

"You can end this whole thing you know."

"Sakura, its Ino's job to get me to do that, not yours… Not that I can anyway. I promised Kakashi that I wouldn't. He likes you too much."

"No, he's just trying to… well ok, I'm not entirely sure what he is trying to do, but it's not… he wouldn't."

"All I know is that he's bloody smitten for some reason. It's not just the mission, he acts like that in here aswell." He sounded jealous as he took another bitter drag.

Sakura felt completely disgusted. "That's gross." _That would mean… he thinks I'm… "The one for him… His true love…" eww!_

"What? I got the impression that things were swimming for you two."

"For him maybe… I'm not interested that way. He's so old and he's my ex-sensei and… just gross, ok?"

"Mendokuse…" he finished that cigarette and reached for another one.

"That'll kill you, you know."

He shrugged, lighting up. "Here's hoping…"

"It really stinks"

"Leave then."

"No. I think I'll just leave him waiting a little longer"

"Mendokuse"

"Hey Shika?" she looked at him curiously, bringing up fond memories. _He really doesn't look that bad with his hair down…_

"Yeah?"

"Want to make out?"

"What?!" He almost dropped his cigarette in shock.

"You heard me. I figure we both need a distraction from our thoughts at the moment and this is the only non-mission contact we'll have for a while. What do you say? It doesn't mean a thing, just like before."

"Sakura, I really don't think we should…" he paused in thought for a second, then turned back to her, taking another drag of his cigarette. "You know what? Screw Ino. Yeah, why not?"

Sakura smiled at him then moved over to sit on his lap, taking the cigarette holding it away from them. Her other hand reached up to his hair while one of his rested against her torso. It wasn't awkward like with Kakashi, but warm and reassuring and the smoke didn't bother her half as much as it should have.

The second their lips met they pushed against each other and all of their frustrations melted away. Despite the comforting effect it had on them, the kiss was anything but gentle as they invaded each other's mouths.

Soon, Sakura moved across and began nibbling on his earlobe. Shikamaru sighed in pleasure and she lowered herself to kiss and bite the soft skin of his neck and collarbone, leaving marks behind.

"I'm so lucky" He moaned out.

Sakura lifted her head to look into his eyes and he took the opportunity to return the favor, making his own marks on her skin. Shikamaru began to run his hands feverishly over her slender body as it pressed against his naked torso.

"Hmm… and a proper genius" One of her hands moved caressingly over the taught, muscled skin of his chest as she sighed into his mouth. _This feels so good. I missed this… _

She felt his hand on her butt and let go of his lips to sit back for a while. She glared back at him. "Steady on. You're not that lucky"

He gave her a lopsided smirk and tucked a loose pink hair behind her ear. "You should get back to Kakashi"

Sakura nodded back, slightly disappointed, before inhaling her own helping of the cigarette's smoke. "Just remember, he's not coming back in here, so you're on your own."

"Hmm."

"Don't worry Shika, you'll be fine. Ino always forgives old friends." She gave him a teasing wink before going back out into the bathroom.

She stopped to look in the mirror for a second. _Crap. My lipstick is smudged_. She went to wipe it off but then stopped herself. _No, I'll leave it on. That'll really mess with his head._

With a smirk she opened the door to the bathroom and leant against the door frame with a sigh and a puff on the cigarette she still held.

Kakashi looked up from his seat, still on the floor where she left him. "Where did you go?"

"Just to inform Shikamaru of the situation..."

"Why did it take so long?"

She carefully removed part of the smudged lipstick using the little finger of the hand holding the cigarette to draw his attention. "We got… distracted"


	7. You wish

AN: sorry, boring. Just making some things more obvious if you haven't got the point yet. Really pointless filler chapter. More Shika-Ino next time?

1521 words in this chapter

**Phase Two**

**Chapter seven- You wish**

Kurenai was glad for the fact that she could wear headphones. Being teamed up for watch with both Inoichi _and_ Shikaku, she often found herself watching two screens at once while failing to calm down the two men. _Some logic this is Tsunade, well done._

"They aren't getting married now"

"Hell no, no daughter of mine is going to be stuck with an abusive husband!"

"He's not abusive. He was acting out of character due to stress."

"Rubbish! If it happens once, it'll happen again."

"Did you not just see his face? He was almost crying."

"So? If he hurt my princess…"

"I tell you, it's just a strenuous circumstance."

"And what if he's under a _strenuous circumstance_ again?"

"Then it'll probably be because of her stubborn Yamanaka temper."

"How dare you!"

"Um… guys?" Kurenai looked up from the monitor at them, having rewinded and frozen the image in front of her.

Shikaku turned to look at her as Inoichi continued to glare at him furiously. "What is it Kurenai-san?"

"One of you might like to go and fetch the others again." _Then they might stop fighting, they're giving me a headache._

Inoichi turned now aswell. "If it's Ino…"

"It's not Yamanaka-san. There are actually interesting things going on with Hatake and Sakura."

"What kind of interesting?" _Aww, so cute. He's concerned for Ino's friend now aswell._

"I'm not sure yet, but Anko might like it. There was a mention of feeling hot and things from Kakashi so at least we'll get some lame innuendoes."

"I'll go." With that, he left to fetch the others.

Shikaku sat down on one of the chairs with a yawn. "My son is too troublesome"

"You love him really" Kurenai smiled at him sympathetically.

"Only by force."

Anko and Genma burst into the room giggling about something. "Hey, did I just hear that Kakashi's making moves?" Anko grinned.

"Yeah, well he already did earlier but it wasn't worth showing" Kurenai answered politely, trying not to over-excite the already hyper kunoichi.

"Ooh, do tell" Genma urged on, taking a seat at the front of the room. Anko sat down beside him, similar interest shown on her face.

"He just begged her to kiss him. It was kind of lame actually. He was acting like a clueless virgin."

"Ha-ha as if. It's probably just an act." Anko scoffed.

Tsunade walked in with the other two men and grinned at them. "Go on Kurenai; show us what he's got."

She turned and pressed play, the image coming up of mostly blank area, but with a view of Kakashi's legs as they paced in front of the bed.

"_**I- It's too hot in here. I'd never notice it fully dressed. My skin feels like its burning."**_

"Fully dressed?" Genma rose an eyebrow. "Have we missed something?"

"_**Kakashi! Sit down before you pass out."**_

"_**I- I can't. The material is making me feel claustrophobic. Maybe I'll just lie down here…"**_

"His face!" Anko gasped "He'll be in sight! Shit Kurenai this is gold." She drooled at the large portion of sweaty naked torso that came into the camera's range but she was interrupted as, just before his face would be in view, Sakura sat obscuring the sight. She pouted in disappointment. "Sakura you little bitch."

"Don't swear at her yet Anko." Genma pointed out, his mouth hanging open in shock. "Look where she is"

No one else had noticed until now but Sakura was straddling Kakashi against the bed, her arm around his neck. A few of the observers gasped in surprise.

"_**So… what's the prognosis nurse Sakura?"**_

"_**A really bad sense of humor,"**_

His arms wrapped around her back, holding her hips still so that she wouldn't move around as much. It was really difficult to see from the camera angle exactly what they were doing, but from Kakashi's tone of voice, it wasn't anything that interesting. He sounded like he was making fun of innuendoes, not using one.

"_**And… just for reference, I'm not a nurse, I'm a medic. One that could kick your ass any day so keep your hentai fantasies to yourself."**_

"_**I don't have fantasies Sakura."**_

"Bollocks!" Genma scoffed.

"_**Oh?"**_

"_**I'm not a pervert"**_

"Absolute and complete bollocks"

"_**You're not?" **_

"_**No."**_

"_**What about your books?"**_

"_**Hmm… They actually do have stories to them you know. I usually skip the more perverted sections. I don't look at women that way, or men for that matter. I've only ever looked at one woman as more than friends. The books are just company unless I can find someone that I really want to talk to"**_

"I think that's an admission." Tsunade laughed "Anko, Genma… yes I will take checks"

"_**You have got to be kidding me."**_

"_**No."**_

"_**You've really never…" **_

"_**No."**_

Sakura's gasp was heard, followed by a quick whisper that the camera didn't pick up. No one complained though, they had already jumped to the conclusion that Sakura reached and were stunned into silence.

"_**Aren't you?" **_

"_**No."**_

"_**Oh… Who…?"**_

Genma coughed loudly to draw attention to himself and put on a ridiculously loud grin.

"You wish" Anko scoffed

"It's not funny to lie like that" Shikaku told him, in a strangely offended tone.

"Care to shed light Nara-san?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"I'm not going to tell you that." _**"I'm not going to tell you that."**_

"_**Right… sorry"**_

"_**Why?"**_

"_**Huh?"**_

"_**Why have you never…? If you don't mind me asking…"**_

"_**I told you. I wanted to find someone who I think deserves to see my face, someone I wanted to be with forever. So… I waited."**_

"_**Oh." **_

"_**Teach me Sakura" **_

"_**What…?" **_"What?!"They all chorused together.

"Stupid virgins" Genma laughed at him.

"You really believe that?" Choza rose an eyebrow at him.

"Well… Yeah. He told me before hand. I take the piss out of him regularly for it."

"And you didn't tell anyone?" Anko looked insulted.

"He had worse blackmail on me." He shrugged "but now that you all know…"

A bang came from the bathroom's direction and Kakashi's head shot up, almost being exposed.

"_**Bloody hell… I've got to go…"**_

To their surprise, when Kakashi's hands moved from their position, Sakura pushed him against the bed frame, holding him still. _**"Not on your life Kakashi. Genius can sort his own problems. You aren't a babysitter and you are certainly not an expert."**_

Anko sniggered.

"_**But what if…"**_

"_**Then he'll have to deal. I forbid you from going back in there."**_

"_**But he won't…"**_

"_**I forbid you. Is that clear?"**_

His hair bobbed where it could be seen, showing him to have nodded.

"_**Now lick it."**_

To everyone's surprise, Tsunade sat on the edge of her seat. "No Kakashi! Don't!"

"What the hell Tsunade-sama!" Anko snarled "They finally get kinky and you're telling them to stop?"

"She's not being Kinky."

"I understand." Shikaku stated "He won't be that stupid though will he?"

They had missed part of the conversation, but what they heard next, made Genma almost swallow his senbon again.

"_**Take it into your mouth and run your tongue along it." **_

"Not being kinky my ass" Anko laughed, taking the senbon from Genma's mouth before he did any real damage.

"You have no idea how many times that phrase comes up in my dreams…" Genma sighed.

"I'm going to be sick" Kurenai said.

They watched in disbelief as Sakura got off him, holding up her finger with a giggle, then stood back, revealing him to the camera. His entire upper half was naked, and sweating, but that was not what drew their attention. He was looking up at Sakura like his heart was broken, like he thought he had done something wrong.

In actual fact, he had, but he didn't see how until Sakura ran into the bathroom, ordering him to stay still.

The sound of the door shutting echoed through the room as they all watched Kakashi's expression sink lower and lower. His disappointment was evident but it was currently overshadowed by the horrible sense that he had betrayed Shikamaru.

His expression didn't change for a while, but that only gave the rest a chance to catch up to the realization of what they were seeing. Kakashi without his mask!

"Damn it" Anko melted "I am really going to fuck his brains out once he gets out."

"You wish." Genma scoffed.

"It could happen! I'm very… convincing."

"You aren't his type."

"What's his type then?"

"I'd say pink-haired younger ex-student medic-nins." Tsunade smirked.

"He would never…" Anko began to protest

"He bloody would. He asked already, remember?"

"Hmm… hey, wait. Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes Anko?"

"That thing about the other room? Wasn't that in the bathroom?"

"Yes Anko."

"So then Sakura could be…"

"Yes Anko."

"Shit." Shikaku went to grab the control from Kurenai.

"What's wrong Nara-san?" Tsunade pressed.

"Shikamaru is in there"

"And…"

He flicked the screen showing the Shika Ino room up to assure him to be right. "If Sakura gets in a room with Shikamaru… never mind. Just think, two of Konoha's best minds together in one room. My boy never deals with public humiliation well. If she tells him about the cameras…"

"Shit"


	8. Experience

AN: reads kind of dark and I'm sorry, it's just a bit of filler, explaining some things. Try re-reading the entire story after this chapter; it might make you smile because there are actually a lot of hinted references to these events that might have been glazed over before. I can't quite make up my mind here, whether to have them go to the end of the mission yet or whether do doss about with them for a bit. I know how the mission is going to end, but I'm struggling to scrape up any half decent filler in between them. Don't worry though, just because the mission ends, doesn't mean that he story will. That will be part three, what happens next. No title yet and only rough ideas. Feel free to tell me any ideas that you may have on what can happen or what you want to happen. I respond to _every _review I get personally and _always_ take into account people's suggestions so please do.

1743 words in this chapter

**Phase Two**

**Chapter eight- Experience**

Shikamaru walked out with an unusual expression on his face, realizing that, to Ino's eyes, it would probably seem like he was gone for ages. However, she did not lecture him about smoking, or disappearing.

She also didn't make any effort to flirt any more, but Sakura had relieved that kind of tension for now. As soon as his thoughts turned to the pink-haired kunoichi, he thought of the cigarette she had taken with her. He could admit it. He was addicted.

"She took my last fag" he mumbled, but couldn't keep the smile from his face.

"Huh?" Ino sat up on the bed and watched him, criticizing.

"What's that Ino?" he turned to face her, still smiling with all of the things between the two momentarily forgotten.

"You are strangely happy. What have you…?" she suddenly looked down at his mouth, then at his neck. "How the hell did…? Have you been leaving here?"

"Hmm…" he put down his bag and grabbed the book from it. _Obviously she's feeling better. She'll be back to regular troublesome Ino soon. I'll need this._

He opened it up and started reading the first page.

"What the hell is that?" Ino stepped off the bed and came closer to peer at the front cover. She stepped back with a gasp. "Icha Icha? You are reading porn now?"

"Hmm…"

"You can meet with Kakashi, can't you? I don't believe for one second that you brought that porn yourself, so it must have been him."

He couldn't help but laugh slightly. "Well it took you long enough. Sakura had it figured ages ago."

"She what? Was that where you just…? Wait… Sakura? Have you been able to meet-?" her eyes suddenly shot wide, looking down at his neck again "Sakura?! Sakura Shikamaru?! All this time I've been in here waiting for you and you've been screwing around with my best friend?!"

He ignored her and kept reading, though he really wasn't paying attention to the words on the page..

"Well… are you going to answer me? What exactly is your excuse for this?"

He just kept reading, smile gone from his face but still not riled up. _Back to the real Ino. Finally. I actually did miss this._

"Are you in love with her? Did _she_ say it back?"

The book dropped with such a force that Ino had to step back to steady herself. He glared up at her, hard. "That's not even vaguely funny."

"I wasn't trying to be _funny_ Shikamaru. I'm trying to figure out what is going on here. You haven't even said a word yet. You aren't denying anything. How far did you get?"

"Right that moment?" he sighed.

"What! You've done it before?!"_ Nice move Nara. How are you going to get out of this one? Well, at least she's not taking any clothes off._

"I don't think it's up to me to tell you that."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"If you want to find out, you'll have to ask Sakura."

She looked slightly hurt, but more infuriated as she sat down next to him in the booth. "How far Shikamaru?"

He picked up the book again, attempting to avoid her questions. This time he really focused on the words on the page.

For some time, they both sat in silence, until Shikamaru finished the page and laughed out loud.

"What?" Ino snapped, thinking that he was laughing at her.

"You should read this Ino, its bloody funny. It's pure crap written for clueless virgins. Half of these things would never work, and the other half would never get those kinds of reactions. I doubt that the writer has actually spent some decent time with a woman ever."

"And you are an expert?" she looked skeptical.

"No. I'll admit I haven't had much experience but I've had enough to know how pathetic this crap is."

"E-experience?" she nervously bit at her bottom lip.

"Don't make me explain Ino."

"I'm sorry Shikamaru. I shouldn't ask. It's none of my business."

He passed her the book. "Read it. I'm serious; you look like you could do with a laugh."

"Shikamaru?"

"Yes?"

"Just one question? Then I'll never ask again." She was fiddling with her fingers nervously.

"Hmm…?"

"I-Is Sakura… I mean, is she… Is she a better kisser than me?"

"What? What would make you ask that?"

"Well… I kiss you and you hit me then run off for a fag. She kisses you and you come out with a big grin on your face."

"Ino…" _I want to tell you I really do, I just… it's not the right time. _"Me and Sakura… It's just… different. We… it's for a completely different reason. Does that make sense?"

"Um… yeah. I think I know what you are trying to say."

_No you don't. I doubt you ever will. You'll never feel for me that way. I'll never tell you in here, it's not right. If I do it, I'll do it properly, not as part of some stupid mission. That's why I act irrationally with you and not with Sakura. It means more. There's more riding on it. You drive me crazy._

_I bet she thinks I love Sakura now. I would never do that to her._

He ignored her again and glared off at the floor.

"It's the mission, right? You have more fun with Sakura because it isn't work for you?"

"Mendokuse…" he sighed "That's technically two more questions, but you'll bug me about it anyway so I'll just make this clear. Sakura is… well she's like a niquitine patch, or a stress ball, and vice versa. It doesn't mean anything; it's just company to distract ourselves from work. Our schedules are too busy for a proper relationship. Both of us think too hard, so we shut off our brains and just…"

"It doesn't mean anything?"

"No. It never has, and never will." He placed a hand on hers reassuringly.

"You promise?"

"Yes. Ask Sakura"

"No, I don't think I need to. I wouldn't know where to start."

"It's only till I get married. Then we'll break it off."

Ino frowned at him. "How long?"

"Well… your dad will never let me near you again if he hears about this, so I guess I'll have to look for another wife…"

"Not that! Sakura. How long?"

He sighed again. _I can't tell the truth, I promised Sakura. I know, make her jealous. _"Do you remember what happened after Naruto, Neji, Chouji, Kiba and I failed to get Sasuke back?"

"Only vaguely"

"Well… I was pretty pissed off at failing my first mission as leader and getting everyone so hurt in the process. Sakura was really upset as well, and was desperate to find him…"

"Yeah, I remember. Then she suddenly perked up and told Naruto not to worry about it, it was strange."

"Well…"

"What?! Then?! You were what, fourteen? That was six years ago!"

"Hmm…"

"And you've been… since then?"

"Ah-ha. What of it?"

"Marriages have lasted less time than that!"

"Ino, this is really none of your business."

"She's my best friend. You are my best friend. Why didn't you tell me any of this? Why didn't you come to me?"

"You were still in love with Uchiha. "

"And Sakura wasn't?"

"No. Not in the same way."

"Fine, whatever. I don't see why I should care anymore. I mean… it's not like I haven't been with other men not that that would matter because we aren't a couple and we never will be and we were only arranged to get married because of our parents and I'll probably end up marrying Chouji now and I won't care because you are both the same to me and I don't have feelings for either of you and I never will and I never wanted to get married anyway so when he refuses because I'm a bossy pig I won't care and I'll just stay single forever and you won't care because you've got Sakura and I hope you'll be happy together and you end up covered in love bites that I could never give you and I won't care and fuck I can't breathe." She stood and took a deep breath. "You don't even care, do you?"

"Mendokuse." He sighed.

"You see? That's exactly what you do to me. Every time I am upset or angry or trying to get through to you, you shut me off and call me troublesome and I don't like it. If Sakura's upset you make out, if I'm upset you ignore me. Am I not worthy of your attention? Do you find me repulsive or something? What is it exactly that she has that I don't? Is it because she's smarter than me? Tell me Shikamaru, because if there's something about me that sickens you, you only have to say and I'll go away. You'll never see me again and then you can be with her as much as you like. Just say the words!"

"Is that it Ino?" he frowned and stood up from the booth, heading towards her. "Are you jealous of her? Do you really want me to treat you like her, because I'm warning you, when I said that I used her as a stress ball, I wasn't kidding. It's not beautiful. It's not romantic. I _use _her Ino, and she _uses_ me. Do you really want me to _use _you?" he backed her up into a wall and pinned her with one hand on the wall either side of her. "Do you really want me to pin you down and take out my frustrations on you?" he pushed his lower torso into hers, further pinning her against the wall as he began once again to bite down her neck. This time though, it was not loving, or sensuous, it was pure lust. She snapped her head back and let out a gasp of pain and shock. "Is that really what you want?" He began to move one of his hands down to her inner thigh, groping with careless fingers.

She pushed him off and stood far away from him, holding a hand to the aching skin of her neck. Her eyes were wide. "You do that to Sakura?!"

He shrugged and sat on the bed. "Much more… and she does return the favor. Don't forget, the girl has super strength. If it wasn't for her healing abilities, I'd be covered in bruises."

"How could you…?"

"Still jealous?"

"I wasn't jealous!"

"Mendokuse."

* * *

AN: ok, I know that not many people read the top author notes (I'm one of them) so I'll ask again. Suggestions please. I may even start a semi-poll type thing to see if any of you can guess how the mission will end. It is already decided, but it will be amusing to see what you come up with. I will respond personally and put up any suggestions in the author note at the start of every chapter as I continue. Who ends up together? Who gives in first? Who is acting? Who is lying? How far do they get? Anything is welcome. Thanks for reading. 


	9. Isolation

AN: More Kaka-Saku was requested so here it is. All the crazy mixed up stuff. I just felt like writing. Sorry if it's a load of rubbish but I wrote it at like, 2 in the morning. Argh. The ending is random but yeah…

1323 words in this chapter.

**Phase Two**

**Chapter Nine- Isolation**

_I'm starting to think that Shikamaru was right. Kakashi seems genuinely hurt. What did he expect? Did he really think that I would fall in love with him, or something stupid like that? I know that we have to cause real emotions, but I never meant to cause _those_ emotions. _

_Oh Kami, I'm never going to be rid of him. I don't want to break his heart, not after all the effort it took to get him to open up. He's done so much for us, Naruto and me; I don't want to reward him that way. I don't really want to reward him _that_ way though either._

_Stop thinking about it Sakura, it's just a mission, that's all. That's why Tsunade set us up with team mates, right? She is trying to see whether we can overcome our real emotions and get the job done. Ok, yes I know that isn't the real reason. She's trying to mess with our heads and get some cheap entertainment out of it; that and a profit (like she'll ever win money of this, or anything else). _

_Nevertheless, if I think too hard about this, I'll go insane. Get it done and then, once it's finished I can ignore it and go back to work. If he can't get over it, then its Tsunade's job to clean it up. She did start it after all._

Sakura had long finished the cigarette and had been fiddling with the butt for some time now. She moved over on the bed so that she was leaning on her hands at the edge of the bed, next to where Kakashi was sat. He was still frozen in shock from her display almost two hours ago.

Noticing this, she gave a quick giggle and went to ruffle his hair, much in the same way that he did to her when she was a genin. "You shouldn't sit on the floor for too long Kakashi. I know I said to stay still but that was only really until I came back. I couldn't have you following me."

He stayed frozen. She turned over onto her back and pushed her head off the edge of the bed to look at him. His eyes were glazed over. She giggled again and stretched back out on her previous position. "You can't ignore me forever Kakashi."

He still didn't answer. She dropped the childish tone and glared at the side of his head seriously. "Grow up Kakashi, what is the matter with you? You haven't moved for two hours. You still haven't eaten anything, and don't give me the _too hot_ excuse because it's well passed midday now, it's getting cooler by the second."

He actually reacted this time. He turned his head slightly and rolled his eyes up to glance at her. "You sound like your mother"

"Why do you say _my_ mother?"

"I never met mine."

"Oh. Well, I do have a point."

"…"

"What's the matter with you?"

"Why did you…?"

"Oh, I see… I see what this is about… are you upset about me going in there with Shika?" _I know that's what it is but I'll ignore it if I can. If he tells me himself…_

"Why…?" he bowed his head.

"For Kami's sake Kakashi, I _told_ you I wasn't a virgin. A girl needs some contact once in a while."

"Why not me then?"

Sakura almost choked at his forwardness. _Keep composure Sakura, don't let him effect you. Mission, remember._ "I'm sorry Kakashi; I didn't think you were that interested."

"Sakura I…" his head snapped around almost seeming angry at her, like she had accused him of something horrible.

"It's not like I haven't offered. You know what to do." She looked down at one of her nails, feigning indifference.

"Sakura…" he spoke softer this time, angry at himself now.

She let her gaze fall back onto him. She reached out gently with one hand to rest it against his shoulder lightly. "No hard feelings Kakashi, you know I have to do this."

"You don't have to. You could just kiss me, forget about us being in this stupid Genjutsu and just be together. I for one don't really mind the isolation…" he placed a hand over hers and looked deep into her eyes "…so long as I'm isolated with you."

"_I'm going to be sick!" How am I going to get out of this one? I'm stuck._ She settled for a brief smile back at him. That would hopefully make him feel better without committing to anything. Then she gave his shoulder a quick squeeze before sitting up on the bed properly.

"Sorry, I had cramp" she attempted to explain and then stood up and went to walk towards the kitchen. She had finished preparing her earlier meal and eaten it herself during Kakashi's period of paralysis but she knew that he had not eaten. So, she decided to cook him an afternoon meal, mainly as a distraction to her self, but also an excuse to keep him at bay.

Kakashi remained silent, thankfully, as she prepared the meal. Twenty minutes later, she served up into two bowls, feeling that it would be too antisocial to sit back while he ate. She also found a bottle of wine in the fridge and smirked, getting out two glasses and setting them on the table.

"Do you drink Kakashi?"

"Not much. I never really get much of a chance."

"Well, you'll like this. Trust me. Come and sit down."

He stood up to walk over to the table.

Sakura frowned at his untidy appearance, and then remembered something. "Oh! I forgot to say, your shirt is dry now. The hot temperature really helped." She put the two bowls into the oven to keep them warm "Come on, get yourself cleaned up" she held him by the hand and dragged him to the bathroom, giving him the shirt and standing in there with him.

"Aren't you going to leave or something?" he asked politely.

"No. I told you, you are forbidden from that room. That means that I have to be in here whenever you are, otherwise you may escape when I'm not looking."

"You can't be serious…"

"I am. Now I mean it, I think we should make an effort for dinner tonight, just for a change, so clean up then I'll get dressed."

"Just for a change?"

"Yes. I'm bored. Think of it like… an anniversary meal. We have been here for… three days? That's three days that we've survived without killing each other, that's something to celebrate, no?"

"Hmm… and three days that you haven't been fixing broken people."

"Healing Kakashi, and they are not broken, they are ill or injured. Use the right terminology please."

He stood there, holding onto his shirt. "I'm not washing with you watching."

"Well I'm not exactly going to join in, so deal with it" she crossed her arms across her chest defiantly.

"I swear I won't go in there. You can barricade it if you like."

"Fine. I'm not going to win, I can tell. You have three minutes, that's all. That's not enough time to go in there." She walked out and went to her bag, fishing around for her mirror and cosmetics.

She sat on the bed for a while, re-applying her smudged lipstick and brushing out her long, pink hair. _This wasn't such a bad idea. It might be fun to see what happens. I know it kind of seems like a couple-ish thing to do but I've never been on a _real_ date. Even if it's Kakashi, it's still practice. It might annoy Tsunade as well. She was never one for steady relationships, so this stuff would bore her rigid._

Three minutes later, she grabbed her bag and went into the bathroom, smiling at Kakashi as he walked out, surprisingly well cleaned up. _Now, let's have some fun…_


	10. Date part one

AN: Whoa, this ended up somewhere different to what I intended. Feedback appreciated. Does everyone buy the explanations? To understand some of this, you needed to have paid full and proper attention to the very first author's note in Missing in Action. FYI if anyone wants to do some fan art using this story, I would love to see how you all interpreted it so go ahead, but please do tell me. I would do it myself but I can't, for personal reasons (my sister would kill me). Lol.

1680 words in this chapter

**Phase Two**

**Chapter ten- Date part one**

Sakura stepped out from the bathroom. _She is so beautiful. How could I not have noticed that before? She's starting to make me feel depressed; Once, because I have ignored her all of these years, and then again because I can't have her now. I shouldn't have begged for that kiss. I should have just taken it. No, that's perverted… I really am useless at this. I can't concentrate when she looks like that._

Kakashi glared with his mouth open. She had dressed in a dark crimson, silk dress that hugged tightly to her figure but flowed loosely out from the hips to reach just below her knees. Where the top of the dress met thin black straps, a gentle sprinkling of clear beads and embroidery fell in blossom patterns. Her soft pink hair drifted around her shoulders to reach passed the patterned area and rest across her chest. She wore no shoes and her make-up was simple, but next to her Kakashi felt just as underdressed as he would have if he had stayed shirtless and unclean.

She smiled at him briefly before walking confidently over to the oven again to bring out the dinner she had cooked earlier. He desperately wanted to give her a compliment, just to say anything, but couldn't get out a word.

When the warm bowl appeared in front of him, he hardly even noticed its presence. His eyes were glued to Sakura as she sat opposite him and poured two glasses of wine out.

She gave him one of the glasses. "So…"

"Huh?" he mumbled out, understanding that she was expecting him to say something but couldn't figure out what.

She gestured to the bowl in front of him. "What do you think? Does it look nice?"

"Oh… um…" he finally looked down to see a bowl of Pasta with a light sauce and herbs on the top. He had never had anything like it but it did smell nice, and judging by the last few days of Sakura's cooking, he could tell it would be delicious. "It looks great."

"It's an Italian dish. Try it." She urged.

He picked up the fork that she had placed next to the bowl and took up a mouthful of the long, sauce covered carbohydrates. His mouth danced with excitement the second it reached his taste buds. It was so unlike anything he had ever tasted, and anything Sakura had cooked for him so far. "Mmm… this is amazing… what is this stuff?"

"Tagliatelle. The sauce is a special recipe I came up with when I was investigating the health and skill enhancing properties of different herbs. Not everything is in books you know."

"Wait… what exactly does this do to me?" his eyes went wide in fear. _She drugged me…_

She chuckled and took her own mouthful. "Calm down Kakashi. It's nothing tragic, it just helps you to enjoy the meal a bit more. It's like how chocolate can help the release of pheromones."

"Pheromones?"

"Yes, they are the hormones that make you happy, the ones that create the feeling that you are in love."

"Oh… you really are quite smart Sakura." He took another mouthful and sighed with pleasure.

She chuckled again "That's why I'm a senior medic Nin Kakashi. It takes a lot to get where I am now and it usually takes a lot longer."

"You're a senior?"

"Yes. I thought you knew that" she glared at him in a seemingly offended way.

He cringed "I knew that you were training to be a medic…"

"I finished my training three years ago."

"Oh…" he gulped. _I should shut up. I should just bow my head and hide before I dig this hole any deeper._

"No worries Kakashi. I haven't been your student for a long time; I wouldn't expect you to follow my every move for life. If you did that for every one of your students, you'd never get a life of your own, right?"

He looked up with awe in his eyes at her maturity. "Thank you for being understanding Sakura. I thought you would be mad, because I do still follow Naruto's progress."

"Of course you do. Naruto is next in line to be Hokage, and an ANBU operative; you're bound to be more ready to follow _his_ progress. Not to mention the fact that he has amazing natural abilities when he tries, he always has had. Where does a medic who stays away from the _actual_ work compare to that? I understand."

"Sakura… that was never what I intended." He frowned "I never saw it that way. It's just…"

"I killed Sasuke. He was your wonder-kid, right?"

"Sakura!"

"No, that's it. Firstly, you were pissed off at me because my emotions got in the way and I went too far. Secondly, next to Sasuke, Naruto was the closest to a clone of you, what with the perverted habits and all…"

"Sakura, that's not it at all!"

"What then? Why didn't you care? Because that's the explanation I've been living on since I was fourteen." She looked away from him, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths.

"Sakura. I never… I'll admit that I ignored you. I'm not proud of it but it wasn't because of… him. I thought that you would be ok on your own. I was never a good sensei to you three and I thought that you would be too focused on Tsunade." He bowed his head again and began poking around in his half-eaten dinner with the fork "Naruto got my attention because… well because he needed it. He's impossible to control so he needs people around him to restrain him at times. If he was put into the Hokage's position back then, Konoha would be chaos."

"That's obvious. You don't need to lie about thinking I'd be fine though. Unless you didn't notice, I was an emotional wreck after that thing with Sasuke, and then my parents died. I wasn't ok, far from it; you just didn't want that responsibility. I really don't mind though. I'm over it. Life is so much more than that and I would never swap my life now, all of my successes, for the few friends I needed back then."

"I really regret it…"

She forced a smile and lifted a finger to his chin to bring his head up before looking in his eyes. "Don't regret... That's really why you don't let anyone in. You lost in the past and you're afraid to lose again. You have all of those regrets and you're terrified of having more. Stop hiding away Kakashi, it's not good for you."

"You really don't mind?"

She nodded sweetly. "It's done, finished; nothing can be done to redo it. After Sasuke, I learned not to regret; the pain was too much to stand. Besides, would I get dressed up like this if I hated you?"

She removed her finger and sat back, taking a sip from her wine glass as she did so. Kakashi breathed a small sigh of relief, feeling that this meal had turned out differently to how he had expected. "You really do look incredible. I'm astounded that you even own anything like that, never mind have it with you."

"I think that was a complement." She smiled mockingly "It may have been strangely put across but thank you. The dress is the same one I've had for years. My dad bought it for me to go to a wedding, I forget which one, but it's the only one I've got. Ino helped with a few alterations but this thing is ancient."

"Well, it looks as good as new."

"Thanks. I don't get to wear it that often so I jumped at the chance for this mission."

"Do you like dressing up like this then?"

"What girl doesn't? It's always been a dream of mine to go to a proper ball though. You know, one of those ball gown, high heels, and fancy dancing kind of parties. I've always wanted to be able to wear one of those gorgeous metal hair pins, the ones with little jewels and flowers on them."

Kakashi was busy imagining it "That would really suit you."

"I know, that's what Ino keeps telling me, but I can never afford one. Not that I ever got the chance to go to one of those balls."

"Aren't you friendly with Tenten? Surely you could get in to one of the Hyuuga affairs."

"Sure. I've been invited to a few now, but they are strictly for couples. You can't go alone, it's not seen as _proper_, especially if you are over the age of sixteen. I haven't got the time to go poking around for someone who can dance well enough so I never get to go."

"That's pathetic. I would let you come without a partner."

"Never mind. It's just another one of those things that I'm always going to miss out on. Tsunade wouldn't give me the time to go to a party like that anyway."

"You shouldn't let her push you that hard Sakura"

"Now _you_ sound like my mother. I'm well passed caring. Work brings money. So long as she's still paying me, I'll work as long as she asks."

"This is really turning into an angsty counseling session, isn't it?"

"I know… I'm sorry. Try the wine. I'm going for another glass, maybe it'll help me to relax." She got up and went for the bottle.

Kakashi took a drink of the alcohol and then went to finish the plate of pasta in front of him. By the time she had come back, he had finished both and was feeling very friendly all of a sudden. Sakura's dress didn't help as he felt the serious need to have skin to skin contact again. He bit back the urge to reach out to her and leant his arm casually on the back of the booth seat.

"Are you feeling ok Kakashi?" Sakura asked him inquiringly.

"I'm great Sakura. Is it getting hot in here again?"

"Nope, but you are blushing ridiculously. I'm beginning to wonder if your mind is elsewhere"

He put his hands to his cheeks in embarrassment "N-no, I'm still here."

"Good."

* * *

To be continued…

AN: Duh duh duh.


	11. Date part two

AN: requested by Paladin-kriss. Enjoy. I think this is my longest chapter ever…I'm supposed to be revising but I'm going to fail anyway so I'm losing the plot. Seriously, I put my head through a post-it note a few minutes ago (not as hard as you'd think). This is probably being updated really late but poor Enigma-chan is poorly (yes, I've named my laptop- it's the same name as my first bike.)Next Chapter may be another Kaka-Saku unless I have a huge out cry of ideas, because the only thing I can come up with now for the Shika-Ino apartment is the part leading up to the end of the mission. Does anyone want me to get there now, because I have loads to write for the after mission section. Feedback please. Show me the luff before I grow another personality.

2033 words in this chapter

**Phase Two**

**Chapter Eleven- Date part two**

Tsunade chuckled to herself. She had swapped shifts with Choza to sit and listen to Sakura's comments. There was only so much of watching them all sleep that she could take before going mad, after all, it was her birthday. Also, Anko became unbearable aswell after a few days, even if Genma wasn't really a better alternative.

"What?" Genma asked her, looking over from his monitor. "Is there something worth listening to?"

"No, not really. I'm just fascinated by the fact that they are having an actual date."

"They are what?! How is that not interesting?"

"Firstly, Hatake hasn't even noticed yet. Secondly, you can't even see it."

He frowned at her. "What exactly are they doing then?"

"As much as I can gather, Sakura made them dress up and now, is feeding him."

"Feeding him? Do you mean like Ino did?"

"No. She has just cooked for him."

"What is so special about that?"

"It is _what_ she has cooked for him." Tsunade removed the senbon from his mouth in preparation "Aphrodisiac food."

He almost choked. She smiled at his reaction. _So predictable…_

"It seems like she is trying to have some fun with him."

"No shit! She's going to have him all over her." His eyes were wide.

"I seriously doubt that. Sakura knows what she is doing; she's been researching these methods for months. With Ino's help, her natural remedies and supplements are the best in Konoha, they are even being sold to Suna. She won't have given him too much, just enough to knock the stiff edge of his personality. It's probably just to judge…" she was suddenly cut off as she heard something over the sound link. "I can't believe they brought _that_ up"

"What is it Tsunade-sama? What are they talking about?" Genma sounded exited.

Tsunade looked up at him with a solemn expression. "Uchiha."

"What?! You can't be serious."

They all remembered the events surrounding the boy's death, particularly Kakashi's reaction. He didn't leave his apartment for days and couldn't find the courage to speak to the rest of the team for a while afterwards. The whole village was quiet, even now, on that subject. No one wanted to say whether they felt relieved (that they could be rid of him and the negative connection between Konoha and Orochimaru he had created), disgusted (by the fact that it was Sakura who killed him), or disappointed (that he couldn't be saved). Many hated Sakura for having destroyed the Uchiha line, but had soon forgiven her with the medical contribution she had made to the village. Nevertheless, this was the one subject that served as taboo for the entire of Konoha, and specifically between these two Nin.

She merely nodded and turned to face the screen, her eyes wide as she heard her comment about Naruto. "That's low Sakura…"

"Put it on speaker" he told her, serious for once.

She rewound the tape slightly, and then did as he asked.

"_**You were pissed off at me because my emotions got in the way and I went too far. Secondly, next to Sasuke, Naruto was the closest to a clone of you, what with the perverted habits and all…"**_

"_**Sakura, that's not it at all!"**_

"_**What then? Why didn't you care?"**_

"Oh Kami." Genma sat back in his chair.

They listened in silence to Kakashi's explanation, then to Sakura's reassurances, feeling very relieved when she changed the subject slightly.

"_**Besides, would I get dressed up like this if I hated you?"**_

"_**You really do look incredible. I'm astounded that you even own anything like that, never mind have it with you."**_

"_**I think that was a complement. It may have been strangely put across but thank you. The dress is the same one I've had for years. My dad bought it for me to go to a wedding, I forget which one, but it's the only one I've got. Ino helped with a few alterations but this thing is ancient."**_

"Oh…" Tsunade smiled "_That_ dress."

"What dress?"

"She wears it to any important events we have. It's nothing too special, but she was bought it when she was sixteen, so you can imagine it's a little…"

"Exposing?" he rose an eyebrow at her in interest.

"I was going to say constricting actually but yes. I'm going to have to make her buy another one before she travels to Suna for the demonstration. They always have formal events at some point and that dress is not appropriate anymore. Not to mention the fact that they have all seen it before, no doubt on numerous occasions, it makes Konoha look cheap"

"_**I can never afford one. Not that I ever got the chance to go to one of those balls."**_

"_**Aren't you friendly with Tenten? Surely you could get in to one of the Hyuuga affairs."**_

"_**Sure. I've been invited to a few now, but they are strictly for couples. You can't go alone, it's not seen as proper, especially if you are over the age of sixteen. I haven't got the time to go poking around for someone who can dance well enough so I never get to go."**_

"_**That's pathetic. I would let you come without a partner."**_

"He's just used to the same situation" Genma informed her with amusement in his voice.

"No, he's not picking up on her hints. The food is dulling his senses."

"_**Never mind. It's just another one of those things that I'm always going to miss out on. Tsunade wouldn't give me the time to go to a party like that anyway."**_

"_**You shouldn't let her push you that hard Sakura"**_

"What?! I don't push her! It's voluntary! Bloody hypocrite! He pushed them all to insanity, not me!" Tsunade fumed, clenching her fists.

"_**Now you sound like my mother. I'm well passed caring. Work brings money. So long as she's still paying me, I'll work as long as she asks."**_

"Thank you Sakura. At least she's got some brains in her head."

"Um… Tsunade-sama?" Genma started.

"What?!"

"They do have a point. Sakura is never one to complain if it's for her duty. She would never tell you if it was too hard. Remember what she said about the Uchiha; she wasn't ok, and none of us noticed. It could be the same thing with her workload. She's accomplished a lot under you Tsunade, but the girl is twenty years old and has no social life outside of screwing Nara for stress relief."

"There's nothing wrong with that. At least she's getting laid."

"That's not the point"

"She knows she can approach me about anything, it's not my problem if she doesn't. The last thing I need though is Hatake preaching her in his idol ways."

"All I'm saying is that, you don't spend your entire life on work, especially not now you have Sakura to pin it on, and you are 56 years old. She is only 20, so how can you expect her to do so?"

"She is mature enough…"

"Fine, I'm not going to argue with you Tsunade. I'm sure Shizune tells you all of this enough. She says it, Akimichi said it, and Hatake said it, now I've said it. It's obviously never going to get through to you so I'll shut up."

Sakura's giggly voice came up from the speakers _**"you are blushing ridiculously. I'm beginning to wonder if your mind is elsewhere."**_

"_**N-no. I'm still here."**_

"_**Good" **_

"Dear Kami. What are they up to?" Anko laughed from the doorway, and then she saw the expressions of the others, both frowning. "Who died?"

"Is it time to switch shifts already?" Tsunade mumbled, deep in thought.

"Nope. I just wanted to come early. What's going on?"

"Hatake is being drugged up by Sakura to make him horny or something, so far nothing interesting though." Genma sighed.

"How could he fall for something like that?" she laughed again.

"Easily. Apparently her culinary genius is extended further than we thought."

Anko smiled at Tsunade. "Oysters?"

"No, pasta." The older woman replied

"I don't think I've tried that one. I'll have to ask for the recipe."

"Don't tell me you're into this aswell." Genma scowled, snatching back his senbon from Tsunade and replacing it between his teeth.

"It's a classic. Men barely ever cook, so we can exploit that advantage. It's only fair."

"_**I think I need to lie down"**_ Kakashi's voice choked out, slightly higher pitch.

"_**Giving up already? I thought we were having a nice evening."**_ She sounded deviously sweet.

"_**Oh yeah… great."**_

"_**Ok, forget what I said."**_

"_**About the kiss?" **_the hope was evident.

"_**No, you still have to work for that, I meant all that junk, and about the blushing. It was wrong of me to embarrass you like that."**_

"_**Oh, um…"**_

"_**Don't worry about it, just relax. Have some more wine."**_

"_**No. I really don't think I should."**_

"_**Don't say you can't hold it, because I know from some of Gai's rambling that you've won more than one drinking contest."**_

"_**Hmm… I'll tell you a secret, if you promise not to tell anyone, especially Gai."**_

"_**Ok, I promise"**_

"_**I never drank it. My lightning fast eating capabilities meant that I could throw the drinks away just as fast. If Gai found that out, the number of forfeits I'd have to undergo would be horrible."**_

Sakura laughed out loud._** "You never drank? So every one of those contests, you cheated?"**_

"_**Yes"**_

"_**Exactly how many?"**_

"_**Lets see… there's about one per week and we've been doing that for… 15 years. 52 weeks a year, that would be…"**_

"_**Seven hundred and eighty forfeits!"**_

"_**Yup, and that would get horribly repetitive…"**_

"_**Why?"**_

"_**He only ever sets the same forfeit… spending a day in public without my mask."**_

"_**Woah, that's like… 2 years and 2 months worth."**_

"Ladies…"Genma grinned "I think we have just found an endless source of blackmail."

"Unless we just tell Gai now and let him pay the penalty." Anko suggested

"No, think about it. If we wait even longer, we can extend the penalty time."

"Kakashi is going to regret this."

Tsunade got up from her seat and went to check the betting sheets. "Since when was this one up?"

"Which one?" Anko asked

"The bet on whether Shikamaru and Sakura would hook up again."

"Oh yeah. I added that one yesterday. Not many takers yet though, I guess people think it's in bad taste."

"No, it's valid enough…" She checked further up the sheet "you changed your coupling bet on Kakashi."

"Yes. He may not have been having genuine feelings before, but he definitely does now."

"Wait, you bet that Sakura will hook up with _both_ Kakashi and Shikamaru?" Genma asked

"Yeah, but for different reasons. She's addicted to Nara and Kakashi isn't the type to back down once he has an idea in his head."

"There's a new one up if you're interested" Tsunade grinned at them

"ooh… wait, is this about Gai?" Genma frowned.

"No, we couldn't let the others know or he would suspect something. It's safer with just the four of us."

"Four?"

"Yes; You, Anko, Me and Sakura."

"Oh, alright, what's this new bet then?"

"I bet that when they get out, Kakashi requests a place on the Suna expedition."

"Wait, I've missed that." Anko pouted "What is this about?"

"They were talking about how Sakura can never go to formal balls because she does not have a partner. The next formal event is the presentation in Suna next week."

"Alright, I'm in." Genma smiled

"I'll bet against it" Anko told her "Can you really see Kakashi in formal wear? Well… I can, but that's only my imagination. He would never do it for real."

"Hey, do you think he'll take the mask off for good if he settles down? If you think about it, if he says that he's only saving his face for the one he wanted to spend his life with, surely if he found that person and was secure with them, there would be no point in hiding it any longer."

"Yeah, but she might not let him. You know, in case some one got too jealous."

"Like you, you mean."

Anko simply shrugged.

* * *

AN: COUGH HINT HINT COUGH chapter 8 poll has no takers at all. I'm feeling so lonely. I now have another post-it necklace and a bracelet. If you want this story to stay coherent, I need some serious self-esteem booting. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease. Thanx. Luff from Izzi-chan XX. 


	12. vulnerability

**AN: People keep asking for more Shika Ino and I know this won't really be what you are after but it's here. I know I've been neglecting them and I'm very very very very sorry but I have no ideas.**

**I also feel the need to remind everyone that I DO NOT WRITE LEMONS!**

**It is simply not in my nature, so don't expect it and don't ask for it because it will never happen. Especially seen as they have only been in this fiction for 4 days. I refuse to think that they would go so far in the relationships that fast. So there. End of insane anti-lemon ramble.**

**This chapter isn't really that much I know, but I have much better stuff waiting.**

**Unless I get any reviews asking otherwise, THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE LAST in this section of the story (meaning that the mission will end in some way).**

**It is already written and perfected but I will not submit it until I have at least 3 more reviews and am completely happy.**

**The start of part three is also written ready and will be uploaded when I have feedback from the next chapter.**

**Thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers, especially my most loyal: TigerWings, XoXdAnNYX0X, TaimaHawk12 and CommGonn. Luffs ya all. Reviews keep me happy and sane and full of luffely ideas.**

**Yes luffely is a word, I have decided, it's not bad spelling, neither is luffs. It is saved into my spell-check dictionary so it is a word. So there. sticks tongue out at grammatically correct people**

**I have only one poll entry so I will not have maximum fun next chapter but it is very twisty guaranteed.**

**Lol. I luff to tease. So what if this chapter is only filler and an excuse to have a ridiculously long author note, I don't give a frell.**

**He he. I'm going to see POTC3 today so I'm quite hyper. Maybe not putting a post-it through my head, or putting my head through a post-it kind of hyper but still… my little sister is forcing me to dress as a pirate and it's going to be ridiculous.**

**Anyways, where was I? I know… reviews please, or I will not update. Ever…**

**Mwah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!**

**All done cap'n.**

**Back to the story…**

1047 ridiculously pointless words in this chapter.

Phase Two

Chapter Twelve- Vulnerability

Shikamaru woke up in a foul mood. He felt like there was something he needed to be doing, but he couldn't for the life of him remember what. This always happened in the morning, usually for anytime up until… well until someone forced him out of bed.

_Bed... _He thought wistfully._ It feels really comfy this morning, so warm and soft._

He started to gain the feeling in his limbs slowly and the sensation of something touching his arm reached out to him. He knew from experience (and lots of it) that it wasn't the bed and was beginning to wonder what it might be when another sense barreled into him. It was a strange, yet pleasant smell of flowers that seemed far too familiar.

Still though, his mind was making no connections and he lazily cracked open an eye. He winced at the brightness of the room in comparison to the darkness inside his own eyelids. In actual fact, the lights in the room were very dim, but the contrast was still enough to blur his vision for a while.

As his perception became clearer, the sight reached him of platinum blonde hair, spread out over a feminine form facing away from him. He also noticed that he had his arm wrapped around the woman's slim waist, the front of his torso pushed against her back. Suddenly, realization dawned and he slowly withdrew the arm, as carefully as possible (so as not to wake her). He then sprung off the bed faster than he could say troublesome.

"Gomen" he whispered dejectedly, knowing that if she had caught him, their already tenuous relationship will have been sent over the edge. It drove him mad to know that, when all he wanted was to be able to hold her like that with no objections.

As he looked down at her, despite the bitter feelings he was experiencing, he couldn't hold back a smile. Yes, he had missed it when she yelled at him for smoking, or being late or lazy, but the softness when she was quiet for real was almost angelic in nature. His gaze fixated on a strand of her disheveled hair dangling across her face.

The temptation to reach out and tuck it behind her ear gnawed at him until it became too unbearable. He took a step forward but was frozen in his tracks as Ino rolled onto her back, stretching an arm over the space he had just vacated.

Pulled back into consciousness, he went into the bathroom to splash water over his face. _Wake up Shikamaru. It's never going to happen._

He went out into the main room again and quickly got dressed, watching her the entire time in case she woke up. She didn't. The whole apartment was eerily empty when she was quiet and he quickly found himself wanting to wake her up. But if he did that, then the awkwardness they had been experiencing throughout the last day would resume.

As soon as this thought entered his head, she began to sir again, like she had read his mind. She stretched an arm over her head and yawned as she sat up, eyes still closed as he watched on.

"Good morning sunshine." She smiled, and then opened her eyes slowly.

At first she didn't see him at all, until she turned herself to face him and caught her breath. They sat facing each other in silence, the smile frozen on her face only by the uneasy atmosphere. Neither wanted to speak first, or move in case the other took it the wrong way. One thing he didn't understand was that they weren't entirely sure which way would be the "wrong" way.

_She had seemed jealous… or was it just concern for her best friend? Is it too much of a stretch for her to return my feelings?_

Ino sharply looked away and the smile fell from her face.

_Obviously it is…_

* * *

Thinking of how the dinner idea hadn't gone too well, Sakura decided to try a different approach.

It seemed that an attempt at real romance wasn't going to work, despite Kakashi's apparent love for it. Maybe that stuff could never work with a one sided relationship where the active participant had been forcibly withdrawn from society for so long he forgot how to communicate with people.

Maybe the only romance he likes is the fictional kind, or was he just too aware of their previous relationship. She would never go the whole way to calling them friends, but they had been team mates, so their situation would not progress the way of normal couples.

She had to play to her strengths, and her strength at the moment was no longer the shock of her matured body, as it had been the last few days. He was used to that now, so she had to try and use the background information she had on him.

Her mind sifted through everything she had on him, until it settled on something. _I have to use what he finds romantic. Ok, so this is more of a favor to him because with any luck he won't have time for this to work before he gives in, but I feel like I should do this, just in apology for what this mission has put him through._

So she pushed away the sheets on the bed, carefully avoiding his sleeping form as she got out of bed. _He always sleeps so late, no wonder he doesn't get anywhere on time. I never even thought to get him an alarm clock. Right, that's the first thing I do once I get out of here._

_No, first thing I do once I get out of here, I'm going to have a shower, get changed and go straight back to work. I've had a long enough vacation, but the first day off I get again, he'll get an alarm clock… maybe it can wait until Christmas, or his birthday… September 15__th.__ I still remember, even though he never celebrates it. He never celebrates it, it can wait for Christmas._

She didn't bother getting changed, but went over to her bag and got out her book and pen, sitting down at the booth and smiling to herself.


	13. Mission complete

**AN: Last chapter. chapter 13... unlucky? let's hope not. **

**Re-reaing this ending now, it is painfully aware to me how pathetic it seems in comparison. oh well...**

**Even though it's technically two parts I decided not to split it for obvious reasons. If all of the cliffhangers weren't enough I wasn't going to torture my readers by making you all wait for the last 5 hundred words.**

**Also, i have deviated from my usual structure to add tension so i hope it isn't too confusing. it works better this way than the original way i wrote it- in two sections.  
**

**I won't say anymore for now. Enjoy and pleeease tell me what you think of the ending.**

1640 words left of phase two

Phase two

Chapter thirteen- mission complete

They sat on the floor of the apartment, facing away from each other with their heads bowed. Ino could hear Shikamaru breathing behind her, in slow, even, movements. Keeping in control was never a problem for him, and she could tell that he would be sitting the way he always did; legs crossed in front of him and his thumbs and forefingers connected in a circle.

His predictability was always something she liked about him. He may not always provide the answer she wanted, but she could always count on it. That deep sigh, and that single word, whispered so lowly that it seems now to be part of his breath. Not many could hear it properly now, he had it that well practiced, but she could always understand him; her and Chouji.

The three of them had been together for so long now that she gets homesick when she's not with them. The last few months, without having Shikamaru around, she had actually gotten ill. She didn't understand it at the time, but with the time to reflect on it, it had become obvious to her that she had just been weaker. One part of their trio was weak and almost useless. Combined with a second, they are much more confident. All three together were practically indestructible.

Ino had cursed Tsunade till her mouth bled for pressuring Shikamaru into ANBU. Since then, the group was separated. Shikamaru was a bundle of nerves, Chouji stopped eating and Ino just didn't have the heart to try hard during missions. As a result, she and Chouji got those missions that no ninja liked that much, like overseeing exams and helping out at the academy.

It made no sense; the solid Ino-Shika-Cho formation being split up just for Shikamaru's tactician skills. They hadn't even requested Chouji or herself for ANBU. It wasn't even that he was working at his best, without Ino there to kick him into gear, he did a half assed job of helping the ANBU units yet they still kept him locked inside any chance that they got. She suspected that he was only allowed to do this mission because of threats from Tsunade.

Once this thing was finished, they would go back to exactly the same problems, only they would be worse now. No doubt there would be awkwardness between them, and the group dynamic would be even further disrupted.

Strangely enough though, the thing that terrified her most was the fact that she wouldn't get this close to Shikamaru again. Looking back, she had really enjoyed the time in this apartment, but little mistakes had disrupted it all. She wondered for a second what would have happened if she had said yes. If she had told him that she loved him, would he have continued or would he have just done what he promised and finished the mission. In reflection, either would have been a better alternative.

The most regrettable part of that was that, as she had watched him and their closeness, she had never felt more comfortable in her life. It just seemed… right. She didn't know if it was love but there was defiantly something about him, some attraction that made her want to sink into his arms and surrender to him completely, but now it would be forgotten and buried and she would go back to her pathetic hole of a home alone.

She would go and eat an entire tub of ice cream and bury her head under a duvet in a big comfy t-shirt and…

* * *

"Sakura…" 

"Hmm…?" she turned to smile gently at him from her seat beside him before returning to her writing.

He reached out a hand towards hers and gave her a charming grin. "You look radiant today"

She scooted her hand out away from him politely "ok"

"How are you so strong and so beautiful at the same time?" he spoke in a smooth, hushed tone.

"Lots of practice, are you done?"

"Why do you avoid me?"

"You are trying to distract me. It's pointless. You know the rules. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to finish this today."

"What is it?" he tried to lean over for a better look "You aren't writing in your diary anymore."

She pushed the book out of his sight, turning her body so that she could keep writing "You'll see."

"You've been writing for almost a day now. Isn't your hand tired?"

"No. I'm used to it now."

"Take a rest Sakura."

She put down the pen and turned to him. "And do what exactly? There isn't much in this place."

"There's me. I haven't got much to do either."

"Well… you shouldn't have thrown away your book then, should you?"

"It was needed elsewhere."

"Right, you are a regular hero." She cooed sarcastically.

"Keep me company Sakura. I'm lonely."

"That's not my problem." She went back to writing.

"I'll tell you the key."

"I'm listening." She looked up at him sideways.

* * *

"Ino?" she jerked at the sound of his voice but didn't turn around. 

"Yeah" she said quietly, annoyed by the disturbance of her thought process.

"You got to ask me about Sakura. Can I ask you something?"

"Huh?"

"It will just be one question and I'm hoping it won't be too hard. Be as honest as possible."

"Alright." She sighed, dreading what might come next. _If he asks about my first, what do I say? I can't tell him the truth, it would kill me._

"What do you think of me?"

* * *

"I really need you Sakura. I need to hold you again. I need you to kiss me, to show me what it's like." 

"Tell me what I need to know then." _He won't do it. We've been here before. "You'd better hope. We aren't going to kiss Kakashi-sensei"_

His eyes lit up. "You first"

"What do I have to show that you'll keep your promise?"

"Anything. Name it."

* * *

_What? He can't seriously be asking that. That's even worse. "Lie Ino, Lie like your love life depends on it"_

"Truthfully? I think you are a pig. I will never forgive you for all of the crap you've put me through and I never want to see you again." She tried desperately to sound broken and pissed off, but just felt guilty for saying those things.

"D-do you really mean that? Is that what you want?"

"Every word." She closed her eyes to hold back tears. "Yes"

* * *

"How about I keep hold of this?" she smirked, holding up his mask. She had taken it when she was with Shikamaru, noticing it resting on the chair beside her when she had sat down. 

"Sakura… you are so attractive when you are smart. I swear on my public dignity that I will tell you what you need to know if you kiss me now."

"You don't get it back if you don't. I know you have spares but not on you right now. You need this to leave here." _He also can't leave here until he holds up his end of the deal anyway but he's not thinking straight right now._

He nodded. "Just one kiss, then I'll tell you what you need to know. I promise."

Sakura stood and walked into the center of the room, wary of the sick feeling she got when Gen-jutsu collapsed. "Deal." She told him gently. _"Noooo!"_ inner Sakura screamed in protest. _It's just a mission. It's not like he is proposing marriage and kids._

Kakashi stood up and walked over to face her, a slight blush rising to his cheeks. She took a step closer, placing one hand on his shoulder as the other guided his hands around her hips. They stood, holding each other for some time before Sakura reached her second hand into his hair to bring his head down.

She could feel Kakashi's warm breath against her lips, waiting for him to reach out and make contact. She watched him close his eyes and bit her lip, trying to decide how to react. _After all of this build up, he's going to be disappointed with a peck on the lips, but I don't want to go onto make-out mode. That would be creepy._

* * *

"Fine then. There was nothing you had to learn from this mission." Shikamaru told her simply. 

She suddenly felt a rush of air around her and was left feeling cold.

"There's the door" he told her stoically.

Still merely an inch away, Sakura felt a lurching on her stomach and a rush of air and watched over his shoulder as the walls seemed to melt away,

* * *

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AN - "In an ideal romance story, Kakashi and Sakura would kiss anyway, not caring what was going on around them as they locked their lips together and let all of the building passion from the last few days out in one fantastic final curtain. Ino would run up to Shikamaru and tell him that she was only being cruel for the mission and would happily follow their parents' engagement plans. Then they would live happily ever after and have little shinobi children"… 

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"In a angsty romance story, Kakashi and Sakura would be pulled apart by the collapsing Gen-jutsu and would never be able to see each other again as Kakashi was taken off on an immediate, long term mission, then Sakura would receive a message to say that they found his mask ripped and bloodied and she would think he was dead for months until he returns to find her pregnant with another man's baby, which would turn out to be Shikamaru's as he comforted her and she him as Ino followed through with her lie, unable to tell him her true feelings until it was too late."…

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"but then I don't write ideal romance or angsty romance so you'll just have to see what the actual ending is right here"…

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* * *

Ino opened her eyes to see that they were now in a much smaller, empty room, and she was facing a wooden door. "What?" she stood and turned to face him in shock. "You gave up just like that? I didn't even seduce you." 

He didn't move from his seat, or turn to face her, and kept his head low. "You did, just not the way you think. The door is unlocked, just go."

She looked at him cautiously for a second, then thought better of it and left the room.

* * *

She stood back from him in shock, now standing in a crowded little storage room, the furniture gone, and their bags at their feet. "What happened?" 

Kakashi looked like he was about to hit something in frustration. "The mission's over. Ino won."

Sakura sighed. "Oh well…" she went and picked up her bag and things and headed towards the door.

Before she went she turned and gave Kakashi a brief wave and threw his mask back to him. "Well played sensei." She grinned "see you!"

The she left him alone in the room. He stood still, dumbstruck, before putting his mask back on.

END

* * *

**AN: That's all folks. End of mission, end of story. What did you think?**

**It will probably be continued by the end of the week with the third part of the trilogy: "BACK TO SURREALITY".**

**Can I just say that I did write this long before I even wrote chapter 7 so it wasn't a deliberate attempt at subverting my reviewer's expectations, it just makes me giggle how wrong you were anyway. Or were you…**

**grins evily**

**well I'm tingling in anticipation and I wrote the frelling thing so I hope you all return the sentiments.**


	14. Back to surreality

**This chapter is only really an author note to let everyone know that the third part to the story is now up.**

**It's called BACK TO SURREALITY so go read it now!**

**It's already onto it's 3****rd**** chapter and the reviews page is looking very very lonely.**

**Ok, I just thought I had better say, just in case you've got an alert on this story and haven't realized that it is being continued elsewhere.**

**Yup I'm a loser.**

**Show the luff peeps!**

**XX Belizma-chan XX**


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